A St. Joseph County sheriff's deputy was told in 2004 that Calista Springer's parents were tying her to a bed using a Velcro strap and a dog chain, a police report shows.

Deputy Dan Riggs forwarded the case to a Michigan Department of Human Services worker in Centreville two days later, according to the Oct. 26, 2004, report, which was obtained Thursday by the Kalamazoo Gazette under the Freedom of Information Act.

Also on Thursday, the Gazette obtained a copy of a 2005 letter written by a child-welfare supervisor in Centreville informing a woman that her complaint of abuse or neglect would not be investigated because it was similar to a prior allegation the agency had already looked into.

Calista Springer's sixth-grade yearbook picture.

The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she filed the complaint after her daughter showed her letters from Calista describing how she was chained to her bed.
The woman also said Calista drew her pictures showing how she was chained to her bed.

"This notice is being sent to you to inform you that your complaint of child abuse or neglect has not been accepted for investigation," Children's Protective Services Supervisor Cindy Bare wrote in the letter dated June 6, 2005. "The reason is: The allegation was essentially the same instance as an allegation previously reported and investigated."

Calista, 16, was chained to her bed in her second-floor bedroom when she died Feb. 27 in a fire that heavily damaged the Springers' house at 105 W. Burr Oak St. in Centreville.

Michigan State Police investigators have said they believe the fire was an accident but they continue to investigate, including the circumstances that led the Springers to confine Calista to her bed at night.

Calista's father, Anthony Springer, said last week his family had four to five prior contacts with the child-welfare agency but that his children have never been removed from the home. He also acknowledged that the family turned down assistance from the agency in the past.

After the fire, Calista's parents told police that they had resorted to the dog chain only three days earlier when the alarm on a fabric-tether system broke. Police say they believe the chain was in use for a longer period of time.

The state's Ombudsman's office, the agency that serves as a watchdog over the child-welfare system, is investigating the Department of Human Service's interactions with Calista. DHS officials said they have initiated their own internal inquiry.

Riggs' report in 2004 was prompted by a call Calista's adopted mother, Marsha Springer, made to the sheriff's office saying that Calista had gone to the house of a friend without permission.

"Marsha told me that Calista has been stealing and not doing what she is told," Riggs wrote in the six-paragraph report. "She requested I talk to her about her behavior which I did."

Riggs heard a different story when he responded to Cailsta's friend's house that day.

Riggs wrote that the friend's mother told him her daughter had brought Calista home after school because Calista did not want to go to her own house, and Calista told them she "hasn't been able to brush her teeth."

"(Calista) also told them her parents Velcro strap her to the bed and use a dog chain to secure it," Riggs wrote in his report.

Riggs also wrote that Calista "didn't tell me anything of the sort" about being chained to a bed or not brushing her teeth. However, he said the family of Calista's friend requested the case be referred to Children's Protective Services and two days later Riggs contacted a DHS worker who told him "they would be doing an investigation."

"But the end result of that, I don't know," Riggs said in an interview Thursday. "You'd have to talk to DHS."

DHS spokeswoman Maureen Sorbet declined to comment.

"We cannot, because of confidentiality regulations, discuss the specifics of any case," Sorbet said.

Anthony Springer has referred calls to his lawyer, Michael Mestelle, who could not be reached for comment this morning.

Rex Hall Jr. can be reached at 388-7784 or rhall@kalamazoogazette.com.
Kathy Jessup can be reached at 388-8590 or kjessup@kalamazoogazette.com.